Viral Video Helps Homeless Man Reunite With His Son After 15 Years

A song and a viral video gave a homeless man a chance to reconnect with the child he was separated from about 15 years ago. “Music took me around the world before I was 21 and somehow, my music now has gotten me back together with my son,” Donald Gould told 24 Hour News 8 via video call. WOODTV.com Video of Gould, a 51-year-old homeless former U.S. Marine, playing a beautiful rendition of “Come Sail Away” by Styx on an outdoor piano in Sarasota, Florida went viral, with millions of people seeing it. But only one person mattered to the man playing: His son. Drug abuse problems caused Gould to lose custody of his son Donny when he was only 3 years old. Gould hasn’t seen Donny since. Donny’s mother died in 1998 due to a morphine overdose, Gould said. “I’ve always loved him from the day he was born. I’m never going to stop loving him,” Gould told WOOD TV8’s sister station WLFA. Drug abuse problems caused Gould to lose custody of his son Donny when he was only 3 years old. Gould hasn’t seen Donny since. Donny’s mother died in 1998 due to a morphine overdose, Gould said. WHERE DONNY IS NOW?... Gould’s son is living in West Michigan near South Haven. After the family who adopted him saw Gould’s video, they contacted 24 Hour News 8. After Donny was removed from his father’s custody, he was adopted by his grandmother. When she had trouble raising him, he was adopted by another couple named Darryl and Terri, who 24 Hour News 8 is identifying him by his first name only. NBC News “We prayed about it and it was like we felt that God led us to do this,” Donny’s dad Darryl told 24 Hour News 8. “We went and picked him up brought him home and he just fit right in like he was always supposed to be here,” Terri said. Now 18, Donny just graduated high school, likes to play basketball and just landed his first job. He told 24 Hour News 8 he doesn’t have any memories of his biological dad. “I’ve thought sometimes about it, of exactly where he might have been and what he might have been doing,” Donny said. Darryl and Terri also never met nor saw Donny’s birth dad. “In the 15 years we have had him, we’ve never had any sort of contact with him or anyone saying he was trying to get in contact with him, so we never really dealt with it or thought about it,” Darryl said. That all changed when the video of Gould playing the piano went viral. “We went home and watched it and sure enough by the name and stuff we knew that that’s who it was and by the story he told, we knew enough information to know that this was it,” Darryl said. “We were in shock because we have never seen him, we never knew of him ever being around. It’s not even a name or someone that would ever even come up. It’s almost like he didn’t even exist,” Terri said. After watching the story, Donny’s parents showed him the video of Gould playing and saying he wanted to see his son. YouTube “I did get a couple of tears in my eyes just knowing he was out there and just knowing he knew he had a son out there and that he was looking for me,” Donny said. When asked what he would say to his birth father if he ever met him, Donny was silent for several moments. “That’s a hard question to answer,” he finally said. “I don’t even know how to answer that question.” After the video went viral, Gould told WFLA that the only thing he wanted to come out of the video was a chance to see his son again. Catholic News World - blogger “Every day it’s painful. There’s not a day that goes by that they took him that I ain’t thought about him. He turned 18 last August 24th, and I wish he would come find me,” he told WFLA. “It makes me feel like this could be worthwhile,” Darryl said. “You hope that something good comes out of it because he telling is from the heart. That’s great. I’m glad we got to see this.” SEEING HIS SON FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 15 YEARS... WFLA managed to track down Gould in Sarasota on Tuesday and helped WOOD TV8 coordinate a video call between father and son. “Donny, is that you?” Gould asked his son as the call connected. “That’s me,” Donny said. WOODTV.com He briefly caught his father up on his life. Donny doesn’t play an instrument, but the pair found other similarities in appearance and interests. “I’ve waited for this moment for a lot of years. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be there for you, son,” Gould said. Gould was showered and clean-shaven, unlike his appearance in the viral video. But he still struggles with drug and alcohol abuse. “I just hoped you’d get your act cleaned up so we could see each other still,” Donny said. “I hope to make that day happen one of these days soon,” Gould replied. He said he plans to check into rehab on Wednesday. (Source: WOOD TV)